Ulster star Ruan Pienaar will miss South Africa’s game against Ireland on Saturday and the rest of the Springboks November tour after failing to recover from a knee injury.
Pienaar injured ligaments in his knee during a Rugby Championship game against New Zealand in September, and had faced a fight to be fit in time for the game against Ireland.
South Africa confirmed that he was out of the entire tour and would be replaced by Jano Vermaak.
“Ruan was re-assessed on Tuesday morning following the on-field fitness tests from Monday, and unfortunately he has developed some swelling and puffiness around the knee, indicating that he is not yet ready to partake in full training and playing in a match,” said Springbok team doctor Craig Roberts.
“He needs a few more weeks of rehabilitation before he’ll be ready to return to play and hence we’ve taken the decision to rule him out of the tour.”
